As the premier blog in Charlotte for food, and things that men agree on, we will not be going extinct anytime soon. We have lost our main Chef on Staff David Scott to family related obligations and just building his own website and his own personal cooking projects. We will get back up to date on this soon.

Our webmaster has been actively helping a local friend Mike Kraft as they develope their own blog and news site for Charlotte and US politics at www.Charlotteconservative.com. Mr. Kraft has a good base of writers and has experience as a GOP blogger. We hope our readers head over and check out his common sense views.

And lastly our main editor has a second child and has ben overrun with the fun and obligations of being a father for the second time.

They have returned out of loyalty or just a good solid welcome feeling. I had the honor to get to see the band Los Amigos Invisibles last night Sunday, April 1st, 2007 in Charlotte at the Neighborhood Theater.

Los Amigos Invisibles is a one of a kind funk band from Venezuela, one of the most famous acts of the last 10 years from Venezuela and originally from Caracas. Los Amigos may be hard to describe but can be best put in the same genres as Sould Coughing, Beck or maybe 311. The band plays mellow psych-a-funk with alot of drums and rythem as would be expected form a South American band. The videos and shows have always come with true originality and personality that has made them a one of a kind act to see in person.

This is the second visit for Los Amigos Invisibles to Charlotte in the last 3 years, and I have been able to attend both shows.

The turnout in Charlotte is truly light as compared to the fan base they deserve. The Venezuela music is hugely popular the world over but not really the flavor enjoyed by Charlotte’s largely Mexican latino community.

The turnout of this band has become largely a Venezuela “meet-up” as I saw many of the same faces as my first show 2 years ago at this same theater. The crowd is generally comprised of the Venezuelan fans in Charlotte, and the many “gringos” (white folks) that have been turned on to this music that crosses language barriers with ease.

I am an old fan of Bosstones, 311, Beck, Soul Coughing, Rusted Root and about 10 other good funk or rythem style bands that makes it easy to translate over to the same styles en Espanol.

While Los Amigos may be somewhat a new item for the Americans lucky enough to stumble on them they are old hat in Venezuelan circles.

If you look at the leading CD’s for the country of Venezuela you will see 3 of the top 5 are all by Los Amigos Invisibles. They hold 3 top spots with current past cd’s still selling off shelves on Amazon.com.

Or if you are into reviews as we are here, check out the Amazon page for the Band here where after thousands of reviews they are between 4.5 and 5 stars on all of their CD’s. You will see many or even most of these happy customers are US resident gringos that found a gem of a foreign band with a style far off the BS that comes out of California these days.

Amazon Review.

So You Want To Be Down?
OK start at Wikipedia here, and learn a bit about the bands travels from 1991 to today as a leading act in South America and more recently in the US.

The band consists of:
Julio Briceño (a.k.a. “Chulius”, vocals, percussion)
José Luis Pardo (a.k.a. “Cheo” or “DJ Afro”, guitar, songwriting)
Armando Figueredo (a.k.a. “Odnam”, keyboards)
Mauricio Arcas (a.k.a “Maurimix”, congas, percussion)
José Rafael Torres (a.k.a “Catire”, bass)
Juan Manuel Roura (a.k.a. “Mamelo”, drums, percussion)

You can expect a crowd that knows every song as not many a fan leaves the concert circuit once they are a fan. I am in for life and can only hope Los Amigos come back over and over despite the weak Charlotte turnout.

You can learn what you missed on youtube with my live videos from the concert last night.

I admit that www.crimeincharlotte.com, good friends of ours on the web, put this story into the best detail and inspired us to break the normal genre of topics here at Charlottecritic.

“Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officers & Sergeants who have been on the force for over ten years have not received a raise in 9 years! CMPD Officers are paid 8% below national average even though they assume more risk than other cities. However, year after year, the City Manager and City Council members deny the police and firefighters’ request for a raise.”

If you look here you can get a better idea of just how bad it has gotten with Charlotte ranking at 175th out of 200 cities nationwide.

I am not an expert on 200 seperate cities, but I would wager a safe guess that Charlotte is much riskier than many of them for the poilce.

If for no other reason but simple risk assessment this should warrant a higher paycheck to those willing to do this job.

But more than this reason, Charlotte wants to pretend it is a “world-class” city, then it needs to make its mark and attract the best police to help run it with high pay scales and higher standards of living for them.

We need to offer the best off duty standard of living to draw in the brightest cops from the US. We are willing to pay big bucks to bring tech companies to the Carolinas, so why do we neglect a much more important role of the police officer.

I found an online petition here.
Online petition to get our CMPD a pay raise.

Please take the time to help this site above out and get the police the standard of living that shows our appreciation to them. Also send the message that Charlotte puts our police as a front priority in becoming a “world class” place to call home.

This is not about Jeff, this is not only about Sean Clark and Jeffrey Shelton, this is about letting your respect and feelings be know toward people who wake up everyday willing to make your neighborhod better and family safer.

This is about being thankful for officers and their families for having the highest character on our behalf.

It matters, and it is not much to ask for the service we receive.

Jeff honored CMPD and all folks that work in law enforcement and for low wages and high risks give to us the safety that is uniquely American. This weekend two CMPD police officers where killed in the line of duty in a cowardly act of ignorant violence.

The two brave officers were husbands and a Father of 2, both described as family men who’s goal was to better the City.

Police officers leave the house everydayto be away from their families and enter some uncertainity.

Uncertainty is one of the scariest feeling a person must confront, and they put themselves, and those they love most, through these feelings every day to better the community.

A sad side note to this story is that the CMPD is 8% below the average in pay for city police nationwide. Read more here at crimeincharlotte.com.

My sister serves as a Deputy serving the jail system in NY, she has wanted to move to Charlotte and transfer to the CMPD, but the drop in pay would be around 14,000 per year.

In light of the increased danger in our growing city I hope this incident serves to better thank the CMPD with a better salary for their families.

“Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officers & Sergeants who have been on the force for over ten years have not received a raise in 9 years! CMPD Officers are paid 8% below national average even though they assume more risk than most other cities. However, year after year, the City Manager and City Council members deny the police and firefighters’ request for a raise.”

I Learned Early
Since I was a teenager I have always wished safety to every police officer I have passed. “Be safe” I have said to every cop grabbing a drink at a gas station or walking on the street and being friendly.

I have 2 Siblings in the Sheriff’s department, and both have become better people from the atmosphere of reverence and respect for people that police are taught.

While no human is perfect, and no police department completely void of being human, ours here in the US as a whole is on the highest level of honesty and determination for a better neighborhood. Even more so than teachers, which is often a topic of conversation for raises, police are deserving of a good standard of living when off duty, I hope this comes to light with the tragic news.

Last night from 3pm to 6pm Jeff Katz put the show and AM airwaves on lock down to pay homage to the CMPD, and to a profession that we not always see, but we always reap the rewards from.

Jeff called for the city to come together on the one fact that our men in uniform deserve respect. We need to recognize these men and women work for our safety above all else, and often make a sacrifice that should be honored every time you walk past or see an officer in the street.

While all other issues and politics set us ablaze and apart, this is an issue that we need to not discuss, we must make it a matter of our everyday consideration.

Thank you to the police, thank you for being as good as you are, thank you to your families for allowing them to leave the house every morning for the betterment of our city.

Also, a thanks to Jeff Katz for seeming whole-heartedly sincere and almost at breaking down in his sentiment for the families and officers.

In all fields and lifestyles there is an inside knowledge that can only be obtained through experience. There is a brotherhood that cannot be truly commented on without living it for a time. (Jeff served on the Philadelphia Housing Police Force)

In my first face to face meeting with Jeff it was truly a hard way to shake hands for the first time, but it was truly a human moment. I am glad such a strong message and honest sentiment was being delivered by a messenger that gets it.

Jeff has done his part to call the city to attention. Please find blue ribbon string and anything else you can tie, and tie it to every branch, antenna and pole in the city.

Let the police know you agree they are the highest form of American. Let the CMDP know you respect them and thank them for their service.

The two officers were shot late Saturday during a struggle outside an apartment complex where they had gone to investigate a domestic disturbance report and died early Sunday.

Police Chief Darrel Stephens said the two officers were responding to a disturbance call around 10:30 p.m. Saturday night at the apartment complex in east Charlotte. They were shot around 11:15 p.m. in the parking lot during a struggle. Neither fired their weapon, Stephens said.

See the photos from this event here.

More from the mind of Dave to your plates and pots. Dave Scott from Davecancook.com is one our exclusive contributors and again hits a home run with how he, and now you, can make great Lasagna.

Dave went overtime on this recipe and it has come out as a two part’er’.

This first viedo keys on making the sauce which is “the most important part” to making your lasagna a hit.

We have fallin a bit behind and Dave never stops cooking so stay tuned as we catch up with more great ideas for men in the kitchen looking for something beyond pot pies.

When you get done learning how to whip up lasagna here see more of Dave and his creations in the kitchen at Dave’s Youtube.com page and be sure to leave a comment and tell him where you saw him, on Charlottecritic.com.

Just double click any video to pop in on his homepage.

Dave does requests so feel free to drop him a line as a Youtube comment or right here on our site and let hiom know what you want to challenge the “world’s greatest chef” to make next week in his ongoing series.

Here in the second video Dave takes the great sauce you just learned how to make and tells you where to stick it! I mean stick to the ribs of course!

“Ray was walking to a convenience story to pick up a snack a few hours before UNC’s Sweet 16 game with USC in East Rutherford, NJ when he was struck by an SUV. The driver of the car tried to help Ray and called 911. So far, no charges have been filed in the accident.

He was to graduate this may with a major in Business Administration and a minor in religion. All of Tar Heel nation sends their condolances to Jason’s family. If you AOLers would like to send your own condolances, please go to this AOL Message Board. Donations can be sent here:”

Jason Kendall Ray Memorial Fund
Concord Christian Church
3101 Davidson Highway
Concord, NC 28027

Now this is too sad a story as he died traveling with the team and the fact that he was a element of the UNC family that flew under the radar and followed his school with passion that went unseen. Doing what he does with a mask and no face to go with his enthusiasm may sound poetic to the point of corny, but in the end he was an athelete that gave what he could in a way that was available to him. He was a member of the team that has no face to go with his efforts. This is one of the great parts of sports, the element that doesnt desire notoriety, just loves to be a part of something bigger.

In my opinion I hope the university retires the mascot. Jayson Ray died on a team function, he was there to support the UNC team which he was a part of. I hope the school stops and names an event or memorial in his name instead of naming it after the largest money contributor.

Retire Rameses forever, hang his jersey in the Dean Smith Center move on and let it be an honor to the hundreds that contribute to this great team that dont go on to the NBA or get carried off.

A home stadium is supposed to focus the power and tradition of all the banners and retired jerseys to intimidate the opponant and remind the current team what it means to be a member of UNC, so for that reason Rameses needs to hang over the players forever.

1. Pork. ‘Nuff said. (best meat, cooks the softest, tastes the best easy to agree)

2.Cheap. Who can really enjoy a good meal if you know you’ll be working overtime to pay it off? A good pork plate, including slaw, fries, and a pickle, should run about $5-$6. Ribs — baby-back, of course — might be closer to $10 with all the fixins’. (sorry that not too many have a full rack fries and salw for under 10, but I agree this should price out like home cooking and taste like it too.)

3. Ma-Pa owned. Sure, there are good barbecue chain restaurants, a few of which we rated. But the appeal of barbecue is tasting a person’s homemade sauce, which usually tastes so good that friends and neighbors ask for the recipe. Then the person has a good start at establishing his or her own restaurant. (good is good, I love Fred Flemming’s Chain in Florida, great pulled pork and sauces, but ma and pa atmosphere is best.)

4. A place where everyone knows everyone else — except for us, usually. When Jim the Sheriff and Bob the barber come in for lunch, Louise hollers at them, “Hey boys. C’mon in — your table is open. I’ll bring y’all your usual.” (this is nice in all restaurants, only m,ore important in a BBQ etting)

5. Most of the staff should be plump–a sure sign that the product is worth tastin’.
(fat and happy, and Fat guys rule are two of our facts of this website.)

6. No coupons. Any barbecue restaurant that has to lure you in with a coupon isn’t worth tastin’. It should be all word-of-mouth marketing.
( I would never say no to a coupon, so I can live with paying less if they want me too, though it isnt needed for the right BBQ)

7. The aroma of roasting pork should permeate your senses as soon as you pull in the parking lot–even before you open your car door.
(Wood, pork and fries in the air.)

8. It’s got to be casual enough for entire families–great uncle Norm, Great Grandma Ruth, and little toddler Nick, who can’t sit still or keep his voice down low, no many how many reminders from his step-daddy.

9. Southern accents. Southern town. Southern folks. Southern Southern Southern.
(Now this makes total sense since I have moved to Charlotte, no other will do to me)

10. Vinegar based barbecue is our favorite, but tomato-based, which is sweeter, is a close second, followed by mustard-based. True Southerners would quickly step-up to define which geographical region caters to which type of barbecue–vinegar, sweet, or mustard-based. However, each restaurant caters to what they like best, so we’ve concluded it’s a Southern myth. Each restaurant serves pork just how they like it.
(pulled pork just needs to be soft and flavorful with the right sauces in bottles.)

11. Tributes to the pig in all forms around the restaurant: Pig pictures on the outside signs and menu, pig statues in the waiting area, and bathrooms, pig toothpick holder at the cashier’s station . . . you get the picture. You just gotta be reminded of what animal you’re eating.

12. Greasy fries. You know the kind — fried in the left-over dirty greasy from yesterday.

13.Tart, crisp coleslaw.

14. Free refills on soda, and keep ‘em comin’. If you have to ask your waitress for a refill, she isn’t quick enough. We need something to wash down the grease.

15. If it’s a chain restaurant, it has to specialize in barbecue and preferably mention that in the name. Regular all-American grills with a wide range of food choices don’t produce good barbecue.

UNC, Florida, Oregon, Ohio State….nope nope nope and nope.
I will not stray too far from what is expected but wont give the favortes a free ride to my best guess.

As of this moment, I am likely picking Kansas VS Memphis in the NCAA finals. My pick isnt one of who is the best or who could beat who but a bigger picture view of who has to do what before they get to be in the final game.

UNC is a great choice but they have such a hard road and so many “great tasks” to achieve that they will set themselves up to fail with great wins over Marquette and Texas.

All great achievements have equally great leveling off processes right around the corner, which is all a team will need to build a lead on them in the game that takes them out, likely Georgetown or Memphis in the final four.

Memphis will also have the task of handling Acey law IV in their group and Greg Oden to deal with, but I see both of those team as having a tendency toward flat spells.

Acey law is an amazing finisher, a great fourth quarter talent to rival Jordan and Wade in scope when compared to his peers, but when an opponant hits a few shots down the stretch he wont be enough.

This falling short only takes one time in the tournament.

I see memphis with a reasonible easy path and could be fresh to run over perhaps a stale Ohio State team in the round of 8.

This post, just now put live, was written before the start of the NCAA tournament.

The picks are looking pretty much spot on, so I deemed it still worthy of publishing.

Every team mentioned in this article is still alive in the Elite 8 and though Memphis isnt looking like the best of the group, this pre-tourney prediction is looking very much on target to making me look insightful.

Scott touched on some subjects that suggest maybe John Fox was at the end of fan patience. He implied the fans love him and the Panther’s have been greatly successful in winning the fan base and the hearts and minds of Charlotte, but it was time to produce with the product.

As you see months ago I had already come to this conclusion.
Here I was pointing out it was already time to start balming Fox.

Scott pointed out that a 3-13, 4-12 season could mean the end of John Fox.
How do you spell “Duhhh” ?

This seemed like saying the “sky is blue”.

Firstly, if Carolina was to have a 3-13 season that would perhaps mark the most dissappointing season for a team in decades, I don’t see Carolina possibly winning less than 6 games. This was a pretty silly comment because it is such an obvious comment. I dont believe Fox should be surviving 8-8 seasons in this weak NFC conference, so a 3 or 4 win season is just plain silly to think is possible.

If Carolina goes 8-8 or less this season without a reason such as major injury to Steve Smith or Delhomme for most of the season, then Fox needs to go.

I would hope he would leave on his own as better coaches have done in the past. A true show of football knowledge would be to know when even your own system can’t get it done, or that you have stopped invoking emotion in your players on a personal level.

Marty Schottenheimer just lost a job after a 14 win season, becuase you measure success based on the product you produce from the parts you are given.

Fox has far too much personel to miss the playoffs again, I would hate to see great careers like Smith’s languish further under possible coaching stagnancy.

The fact is I know football far beyond the limits of the normal armchair wannabe quarterback. Scott mentioned that Carolina has two of the top 10- players in the league in Peppers and Steve Smith. I agree with this statement, clearly the top 15 players, likely top 10 is a fair statement.

The fact is the Panthers outcome has been the number one disappointment in the entire league this past year.

Carolina was considered the 2nd or 3rd most likely champion coming into 2006 behind only San Diego and maybe Indy. Carolina had essentially played their way out of the playoffs by week 11. They only had a decent chance of the playoffs late in the season due to the embarrassingly bad NFC conference.

Position by position, Carolina is one of the top 8 teams in terms of talent. Injury excuses are just not acceptable since New England did alot more with much less. New England, whom is my mortal enemy as a Bills fan, had almost no receiving core and riddled with defensive injuries and still proved to play like a top 5 team.

The true weakness with Carolina is that they are weakest at the most crucial points. They have a quarterback that is prone to mistakes at the most innopportune times, and they apparently have a coach that is so stuck on a weak game plan that he allows his team to fail almost weekly. I believe Fox’s Slow moving game plans leave other teams within striking distance and leave the door open for Jake to make the one “error” that Sinks the Panthers in the 4rth Quarter of many games.

I believe Carolina lost ‘6′ 4rth quarter leads last year? That is a statistic that should get a coach fired immediately.

Even the great hall of famer Don Shula eventually had nothing else to offer his team in Miami and had to move on so thee team could win.

When you dont invoke emotion in your players, then you game plans will never be enough.

A coach that has a telented team and not the mentality that team’s attributes require will be doomed to be out of its element.

With a great open field back, a great deep threat and two receivers that can go over the middle on short fast routes, Carolina may be better suited for a west coast offense that fox isnt providing. Im not offering this as an answer, just an example of what may be the mismatch.

I wish the best to talented teams like Carolina. Im a Bills fan, but respect the Panthers in all their talent and history of being defensive fighters. The games with Tampa were groundbreaking games for the Carolina sports fans, and defined Carolina as a great and scrappy team. The issue seems to be that the team has an identity, and the coach no longer has the ability to channel it into a concentrated effort or game plan.

Some things are miles ahead of politics and sides, and generally those things are people. Keith Larson has enlightened us to a close friend of his named Marshall Giles, that is a 28 year old guitar player and landscape architect that is battling against cancer.

Local churches have arranged an executive meal to benefit and aid Marshal in his fight. For $15 and a reservation you can get a seat and help a cause for a local 28yr old man in need.

“Marshall Giles is a 28 year-old worship leader and member of Well of Hope Lutheran Church (The Well) in Charlotte/Pineville. Marshall was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Monocytic Leukemia (AML) on September 29, 2006. For the past five months he has been receiving ongoing chemotherapy treatments as he awaits news of a transplant. As with most individuals who suffer from leukemia, Marshall’s body and immune system have been weakened, making it impossible for him to return to work at this time. We are hoping that this will be an opportunity for us to come together and be a blessing for him and for one another, as we journey together in Christ, by grace through faith. Please share this invitation with people whom you know, and thank you in advance for your prayers, as well as your gracious and generous support. “

The dinners will be held at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church (Myers Park) and Christ the King Lutheran Church (Southwest Charlotte). Thrivent Financial will be matching each $1 that is donated with $.33 (with a maximum grant of $3000).

Read more here and pass the word of mouth to get more people interested in helping out a true local and personal cause.

Read more here